


Long Live

by FranBunny



Category: Naruto
Genre: Heavy Angst, M/M, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Smut, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 20:06:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13442376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FranBunny/pseuds/FranBunny
Summary: “If, God forbid, fate in should step in and force us into our goodbyes, know I had the time of my life with you.”





	Long Live

**Author's Note:**

> So, something happened while I was listening to “Long Live” by Taylor Swift and this fic basically wrote itself after that. I literally bawled my eyes out writing it.

The lush cherry trees lining the road were something he didn’t know he’d missed until he’s driving down the familiar path to his hometown. Naruto hasn’t been there in over a decade and he doesn’t know what to expect. Once the car passes the city limit sign, he gasps at what seventeen years has done to the place. There were definitely more shops, cafes, and a new shopping mall he doesn’t remember being there before. He turns to the street of his childhood home and is hit with a great feeling of nostalgia.

The houses are mostly the same. To his right is Shikamaru’s house with the ridiculous and ugly garden gnome that was dutsy from age. To his left, Kiba’s room up on the second floor with tape to the window in a desperate attempt to fix what a lousy throw of a baseball had broken. _So, he never bothered, huh?_ He’s surprised to see so many cars parked around his old house, but then again, they were talking about his uncle, Jiraiya. He’s everyone’s buddy, drinking or not.

“Are we there yet??” Himawari says excitedly from her seat just behind Hinata’s.

“Yeah, we’re here. I just gotta find parking.” Naruto finds a spot eventually, right infront of his old tee-ball coach, Iruka’s house. He’s very sure his mentor is where everybody is, so he guides his wife and children into his parents’ house. Once he steps through the door, he’s immediately greeted by his crying mother.

“Oh my God, you’re here.” She gives him a very big and warm hug, doing the same for her grandchildren and daughter-in-law.

They’ve only seen each other twice, during his wedding and Boruto’s first birthday. Naruto had flown his parents all the way to the city just so he didn’t have to come back to this place. Everyone is here, his friends, old teachers, hell, even the ramen stand guy! He greets them with an enthusiasm he doesn’t know still existed in him. Minato closes the door to a room just right next to the staircase. The moment he sees his son, he approaches him and gives him a hug as well.

“I missed you, son.”

“Me, too, Dad... How is he?” His father shakes his head.

“I don’t know how much longer he has. He keeps looking for you, though. Go talk to him.” Naruto nods at his father’s words and looks to his wife.

“Hinata, do you mind staying here with the kids for a bit? I just need to talk to my uncle.” She shakes her head.

“I don’t mind. You go do what you have to do.” He gives her a small smile and kisses her cheek before turning to his two kids. “Guys, behave, alright?” Boruto just looks away and shrugs while Himawari nods with an ‘okay, dad!’

“Behave? That’s rich, coming from you.” Kiba had just arrived and immediately gives Naruto a fist bump and a hug. They were all getting so old. “Good to see you, man.”

“Sh— Crap. It’s been forever! Is that a four o’clock shadow?”

“Like it? I call it the lady snatcher.” Naruto chuckles.

“I’ll go see him. I’ll talk to you guys after, alright?” Kiba nods and the blonde puts his hand on the door knob, steeling himself before entering and softly closing the door behind him.

The sight of his great uncle on the bed gives him a feeling of dread and regret. Regret that he never bothered to come back for most of his life. He reaches out a hand and holds Jiraiya’s own, moving to sit on the chair right by the bed. The elderly man opens his eyes and Naruto sees the surprise in them.

“Nar... To...?” He seems to be having trouble speaking, and that fact makes Naruto’s eyes sting.

“It’s me. Naruto. I’m here.” He watches tears slide down from the old man’s eyes, and he too starts to cry. He has been the most selfish human being, abandoning everything, all the kind people life had given him, just because of the hurt he couldn’t cope with all those years ago. “‘M sorry.... I am so sorry...” He cries into his great uncle’s hand and feels it grip his own tighter. He looks up and watches the man struggle to speak.

“Good you... Came back...” The blonde nods and tries to smile through the tears. “Tell me ‘bout... your life...”

“I have two kids now, and I’m still married to a really beautiful and kind woman. You wanna meet them?” Jiraiya seems to be closing his eyes, but gives a slight nod. When Naruto moves to stand, his grandfather holds his hand tighter. He looks at him questioningly.

“You happy...?” The blonde just looks at him, wondering why he would ask that question. “She... Make you happy?”

“Of course, she does. More than anything.” Jiraiya lets go of his hand after a while.

Naruto exits the room to fetch his family, but a flat sound emits from the room and Minato’s rushing into it. Sakura joins him immediately and everyone waits with bated breaths in the living room. When his childhood friend steps out the room with a broken expression and a shake of the head, a familiar wound of loss opens up in Naruto’s heart.

——

It’s raining during the funeral, and Naruto watches, suit and tie and all, until the last shovel of dirt is put into place. Hinata is holding an umbrella over her husband when Kushina approaches them.

“Sweetie, let’s go home. The guests are there, and the reception will start soon.” Naruto doesn’t look at her though, only staring at the ground, his face evident with hurt.

“I wanna be alone for a while.” He looks to Hinata. “Go with my mom, the kids are probably causing a ruckus.” She nods and tries to hand him the umbrella but he shakes his head. “You need it more.” He kisses her forehead before turning to his mom. “Sorry. I just... I wanna—“

“You don’t have to explain yourself.” She says this in a way that tells him ‘I know you better than anyone else’. He chuckles. _He did, too._

His mother gives him a big hug before leading Hinata to her car and taking her home. He looks down to the ground again, a steady drizzle slowly shading his coat a darker shade of gray. After a while, he starts walking out of the cemetery and heads to the opposite direction of their home. He breaks out running when the rain picks up and takes refuge at a bench with a roof above it, overlooking the lake.

He takes a seat and loosens his tie up while shaking his blonde hair of water. He puts his hands on the seat on either side of him and admires the view. He feels a pang of nostalgia at seeing the dock, a lone row boat tied to it. While he watches, he feels slight ridges on the bench and turns his attention to it. When he realizes what it is, he breathes out.

‘Naruto+Sasuke’

His heart was beating rapidly.

_“Hey, you’re drenched! We can’t row the boat in this weather!” Naruto is near yelling due to the torrential downpour upon them, but the raven’s walking along the dock, spreading his arms and head tilted up to the sky with his eyes closed. The blonde watches him, watches the beauty in front of him, and closes the distance. He pulls the slim body into his embrace and kisses him passionately._

He’d forgotten how much they painted this town with memories of them. This town was theirs.

_“Promise me you’ll never forget me.”_

_“I promise. I will never ever forget you.”_

Naruto quickly stands to make his way back, rain be damned, but the wind just blows harder and the downpour is that much greater. He has no choice but to wait it out a bit, and he hangs his head in frustration. He never wanted to return because he knows everywhere will only be a reminder. There isn’t a corner in this small town they didn’t share happy memories in.

He’d thought time healed all wounds, that seventeen years later, he’d accepted what had happened, but being here right now, he knows he’s been lying to himself. He looks to the dock once more, the small rowboat battling the waves, and for the first time in so long, he allows himself to remember.

——

_“You ready for your biggest game, yet?” They lie on the grassy area of their favourite clearing. It’s peaceful here, and people almost never come by, so it’s become their perfect spot. Well, one of them. The blond laughs and turns his head to Sasuke._

_“Hell yeah. I can’t believe we’re graduating soon, though. Have you ever thought about what to be? Like, which college to go to? We actually never talked about it.” The raven looks up to the sky._

_“Well, I’m no genius like my brother, so maybe just a college nearby. The closest one.”_ ‘So I won’t have to be far from you’ _he thinks, but doesn’t tell the blond._

_“No genius?? You’re second in academics at our school! Next to Sakura-chan, anyway, but she’s a braniac so...”_

_“She’s gonna kill you if she hears you say that.” The both laugh and Naruto reaches out to the sky._

_“You’ll be there right? At my game?” The raven turns to him then, admiring that handsome tanned face._

_“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”_

_——_

_It was a friday night and the bleachers were packed. Sasuke’s ripped jeans got snagged on his way up and he curses and inspects the damage once he’s seated. At least he didn’t get hurt, he supposes. He turns his attention back to the field, and right there, practicing his swings, is Naruto. The raven’s heart does a little flutter like it does now-a-days when the blonde’s around. The game starts not soon after and Naruto’s up. He gets into position, laser focus on the ball, and once he hits the first pitch with his bat, the crowd is going wild._

_Sasuke watches the game holding his breath and feels a sting on his left side. He hisses and rubs the area with his hand, returning his focus to the game once the pain subsides. At the final few minutes of the game, Naruto is batting and they have full bases. He hits the ball out of park and everyone is screaming, waving their banners around, Sasuke included._ They actually won! _He continues to cheer, and smiles wider when the team carries Naruto, the blond pumping his fist in the air. Once he’s back on the ground, Sakura, unfortunately a cheerleader, gives him a long hug. Sasuke feels a pang of jealousy and climbs down the bleachers like everyone else._

_The raven sits at the edge of the dock later that evening, feet touching the water, face looking up to admire the moonlight. He’s been here a while, and it’s starting to get chilly. He hears footsteps approach him and someone deposit themselves beside him, a sports jacket gently being slipped over his shoulders._

_“You need to stop wearing sleeveless clothes at this time of night. You know how cold it gets.” He turns to Naruto and tilts his head slightly._

_“I’m fine, you know. Good game back there.” He takes in the blond’s messy hair and frowns. “After party?” He receives a nod._

_“Yeah, Sakura-chan’s crazy!”_

_“You like her, don’t you?” He turns his face back to the view he was admiring earlier, avoiding the questioning gaze directed at him._

_“Wha— Sasuke, you know I’ve been crushing on Sakura-chan for forever!” And it’s true. He feels bile rise in his gut and it hurts._

_“That’s nice. I hope you guys are together now.” He sounded bitter, he knew, but right now he didn’t give a fuck._

_“Well... Yeah, I actually asked her out and she said yes.” Sasuke couldn’t have stood faster than he did. He tosses the jacket back at Naruto’s head and puts his shoes on._

_“She’s gonna need that, then, since all she was wearing was a damn mini skirt.” He finishes slipping them on and starts walking off the dock._

_“Woah! Wait! Sasuke??” Naruto follows him, very confused at what’s going on. He runs and blocks the raven’s way, though. He receives an icy glare. “What’s going on—“_

_“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be discovering the wonders of alcohol and more right now? Go back to your after party.” Sasuke goes around him and continues to walk in the direction of his house._

_“I don’t get why you’re acting like this! Can you stop picking fights with me for two seconds? I literally just won a game! This means a lot to me!” The raven stops and turns around._

_“Do I look like I’m stopping you? Go enjoy whatever the hell it is. You better stop it, though.”_

_“Stop what?”_

_“That thing you did with your jacket. Stop doing those things to me. I’m not some fragile shit.”_

_“Sasuke, you’re my friend! Of course, I care—“_

_“You think Sakura’s gonna like you doing that?! If you think for one second that if you do one thing for her and the same thing to me it’ll mean different just because I’m a guy, you’re dead wrong. You’ve forgotten that the whole school knows I’m fucking gay. Just leave me alone.” Sasuke leaves him standing there, and he starts running because it hurts and his friendship with Naruto is over._

_Sasuke avoids him like the plague at school and eats by himself in the Mathletes Club Room. He isn’t even part of the club, but since when did they use this place anyway? A week goes by like that, and he can’t recall a moment in his life where he was apart from Naruto this long, but this was all his fault. He’d fallen in love with his best friend, and now, that said best friend is sucking some pink-haired bitche’s tongue out of her mouth. The pain to his side comes back and he pushes his lunch aside, appetite completely gone._

_——_

_He’s running a hundred degree fever, and his older brother’s taking this opportunity to coddle him. He secretly loves all the attention Itachi has on him, but he’ll never let him know that._

_“Told you not to keep staying out in the cold. Can you not get that through your head?”_

_“Mmm.” Sasuke cuddles further into bed and falls asleep. He doesn’t know how long he’s out for, but he wakes to the feeling of his bangs being brushed back by a warm hand from his sweaty brow. He adjusts to the darkness of the room and realizes it isn’t Itachi there with him._

_“Hey, how’re you feeling?” His blue eyes shine in the moonlight and Sasuke thought about how unfair this world is for creating this boy in front of him._

_“‘M fine. What’re you doing here?”_

_“I was worried when you didn’t come to school.”_

_“How’d you know I wasn’t in school?”_

_“Kakashi asked me about you. You missed two days already. Why didn’t you tell me?” He furrows his brows at the blonde._

_“Why the hell would I? Shouldn’t you be with Sakura? She seems clingy as fuck, so maybe she needs you right now.” Naruto just watches him and his gaze makes him squirm._

_“You never insulted Sakura-chan like that before. I mean, yeah, you never liked her, but now you’re throwing insults about her left and right. I don’t—“ Sasuke sits up so fast, it makes him dizzy, but he presses on._

_“You wanna know why? Because she fucking won. She has you. The one person that I have, she takes away. The one person I’ve ever loved, she gets to have. So, yeah.” He lies back down and turns to face the wall. “Get out.”_

_“Sasuke—“_

_“I SAID GET OUT!” It takes a while, but he hears the chair the blonde is sitting on creak and the door open and shut close. He allows himself to cry then._

_——_

_Sasuke continues to avoid Naruto, but he’s noticed that the blonde doesn’t actively seek him out anymore. His heart aches, but he thinks he deserves this for acting the way he did. He fucked it all up by falling inlove. When he comes home, Itachi’s reading the newspaper on the couch and he does a double-take on his wrist watch. It’s only 3:20._

_“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”_

_“What are you? Dad? And you can’t go to prom looking like that. It’ll be a disgrace to our family name.” Sasuke drops his backpack by the couch and sits with his brother._

_“Not going. I even forgot it was today.” He didn’t because he saw the preparations done at the school gym. Itachi has a read on him like a book, though._

_“Mhm. Get dressed so I can take you there. What time’s it start?”_

_“Not going.” The raven gets up and moves to climb the stairs but pauses when Itachi starts to talk._

_“Do it for me? I didn’t get to go to mine, you know. I’ll drive you there and if the food’s bad or you hate it, just shoot me a text and I’ll pick you up.” Sasuke gives him a calculating stare, but all he gets is a bored expression._

_“Fine. Be prepared to come back to school five minutes after you drop me off.” He goes up to his room and looks through his closet for something to wear._

_He decides he doesn’t care, and in a rebellious act, wears his ripped jeans and a plain white v-neck. He does bother to fix his hair, though, but nothing out of its usual style. Itachi drops him off at 7:00 on the dot and he makes his way inside. He isn’t surprised at all the activity going on, and gets out of everyone’s way by standing near the punch table. He figures he’s found his spot for the night. At 7:30 or so, Ino comes up to the stage and takes the mic in her hands._

_“So, final casts of votes for prom King and Queen will be by eight on the dot! So please hurry and vote!” The time drags on, he thinks, and he’s very tempted to ask his brother to come get him. He hasn’t seen the blonde either, so that in itself seemed strange since he was usually drawing up a crowd and loud. Sasuke takes tiny sips of his punch while checking his watch every now and then. He’d voted for Ino out of spite, and his hand had moved on its own when he checked out Naruto’s name before shoving the paper in the ballot box._

_The clock strikes 8:00 and everyone’s anticipating, surprisingly even Sasuke himself, to know who will win the crowns. He shouldn’t have been surprised when Sakura had won. He noticed her smile fall when Naruto was crowned Prom King, and that was just a tiny bit confusing. Maybe he was reading too much into it._

_“Would the King and Queen take the floor and have their dance?” Ino announces and everyone starts to cheer. Sasuke sighs and pulls his phone out to text his brother when Naruto starts talking into the mic._

_“Actually, I wanna ask someone for a dance.” The crowd was gasping, and Sasuke’s thumb is hovered over his phone keyboard completely frozen. “Sasuke... Please?” He looks up and ocean blue eyes lock onto his. Naruto jumps off the stage and the students part so he can make his way to the raven. Once he’s right in front of Sasuke, he raises his tanned hand in offering._

_“What are you doing?” It’s barely a whisper, but Naruto heard it loud and clear._

_“What I should’ve done years ago. May I?” Sasuke doesn’t break eye contact and puts his hand in the blonde’s waiting one. Naruto leads them to the middle of the dance floor. He takes his crown from his head and puts it on the raven before guiding pale arms around his shoulders and placing his own around a slim waist. A slow song plays through the speakers and Naruto leads them into a slow dance. The blonde isn’t the best dancer, but Sasuke is too shocked at the moment to register any of that. “S’uke. Please say something.”_

_“How did you bribe Itachi into this?” Sharp as ever. Naruto laughs and touches his forehead to the raven’s own._

_“I promised to get you out of the house more often. He said you’ve been sulking too much”_

_“Tch.” They stay like that until the song ends, everyone around them clapping. They exit the school gym once upbeat songs started playing, and run hand in hand to the moonlit dock. Sasuke toes off his shoes and sits on the edge, toes touching the surface of the water. Naruto folds his slacks halfway up his claves after taking his own shoes off and sits beside the raven, their sides completely touching._

_“What made you change your mind about her?” Sasuke is looking up to the moon, and the blonde watches the light reflect such a beautiful face._

_“When you told me you loved me.” Sasuke turns to him then._

_“Are you doing this out of pity?” There’s a sliver of warning in his voice, but the blonde shakes his head._

_“When you told me, I couldn’t sleep for days. I actually talked to my parents about it, and they made it clear that how I was like around you made them think we’ve been dating. When I told Sakura-chan, she said she knew something was going on. That the way I acted around you wasn’t friendly in any way. But... I’ve only ever known you as my best friend, you know? And it made me so happy over these years that it just... I guess like, blurred the line between love and friendship?” Naruto was scratching the back of his head and the raven lets out a laugh._

_“You’re an idiot.” The blonde throws a pout his way, about to argue but he cuts him off. “But I thought I’d messed up by falling inlove with you. It became harder and harder not to as the years went by.”_

_Sasuke looks to the water as it ripples under his feet. Naruto’s finger tips his head up, urging him to look into his baby blues. They look into each other’s eyes for a moment before leaning in and pressing their lips together under the watchful eye of the moon._

_——_

_They graduate that fateful spring and toss their caps into the air at the close of another chapter in their lives. They both decide to attend the local college to be together and spend the first day of summer taking the rowboat out into the lake. They reach the middle, and Naruto whips out his sketchbook._

_“You brought that thing? When was the last time you’ve drawn?”_

_“Oh, shush and sit still. Baseball took up a lot of my time, but I’ve sketched here and there.”_

_“Hn.” The raven looks to the lucious greenery to his side and Naruto takes in the beauty in front of him and starts to draw. He was about to go through the final details when he notices Sasuke flinch and hold his side._

_“You alright?”_

_“Yeah. This happens sometimes. I’m fine though. You done?”_

_“Just a bit more.”_

_He finishes the picture not long after and hands it to Sasuke. The raven takes in the drawing with amazement and thinks Naruto really does have talent for this. He returns it to tanned hands, and once the blonde’s put it away, he holds onto the edges of the boat on either side of Sasuke and leans in to kiss him. The raven puts his arms around broad shoulders, tangling his hand in blonde locks and kisses him deeper._

_——_

_“I wanna show you something.” Naruto’s smiling brightly and pulling him along the direction of the dock, but instead of heading down the hill, he takes him to the waiting shed overlooking it. He kneels down and gestures for Sasuke to do the same._

_“You better not be showing me a month old gum.” The blonde laughs._

_“Maybe.” Once the raven’s right beside him, he sees what’s carved on the wooden bench._

_‘Naruto+Sasuke’_

_“You are gonna get us into so much trouble!” He headlocks the blonde._

_“Ack! S’uke, let go of me!” They end up sprawling on the ground, their laughter filling the air._

_——_

_They run into Naruto’s house, drenched from the sudden downpour. His parents are in the next town over attending a friend’s wedding, so he has the house all to himself. They rush to his bedroom, the blonde locking the door once he’s closed it. He watches Sasuke shed his shirt and feels arousal stir within him. He walks over and runs a hand down his slim figure._ Has Sasuke always been this skinny? _He doesn’t have time to ponder about it because the raven faces him and pulls him in for a kiss. He happily returns it, and soon enough, they shed all their clothes and climb onto Naruto’s bed._

_“You have the stuff?” The blonde nods and takes the pack of condoms and bottle of lube from his pants pocket and places it on the bed. Sasuke nods and makes himself comfortable on his back. “You nervous?”_

_“As fuck.” Naruto lets out a chuckle and kisses the raven’s bent knee. “I don’t wanna hurt you.”_

_“You won’t hurt me if we go slow.” The blonde nods and coats his fingers with lube. Sasuke spreads his legs open and Naruto circles his entrance with a finger while kissing his thigh. He then inserts his index finger in and the raven gasps at the intruding feeling._

_“Does it hurt?” The blonde looks alarmed but Sasuke shakes his head. He pushes the finger in until it’s knuckle deep and relishes in the feel of the raven’s velvety walls. Sasuke lets out a sigh and Naruto starts to hook his finger inside, making the raven squirm._

_“Oh my God... That feels nice...” He continues to move the digit inside, lightly pushing and pulling before slowly adding his middle finger in the mix. Sasuke gasps again, and puts his pale hands on either of his globes, spreading his cheeks further apart, stretching his tight ring of muscle. Naruto moves his fingers in a scissoring motion, trying to stretch the raven out as much as possible. “My God... That feels really good...”_

_“Yeah? Nothing hurting?” He receives a shake of the head. He grabs the lube bottle, popping the cap open and pouring some directly onto where he’s working Sasuke’s ass. The raven jumps at the feeling._

_“Cold!” The blonde has the decency to look sheepish._

_“Sorry.” But the motions becomr easier to do now, and he adds his ring finger. Watching Sasuke so stretched makes his cock twitch. The raven moans obscenely at the feeling. “Think you’re almost ready?” Sasuke nods._

_“I wanna feel you inside me.” The way Sasuke pants the words out has Naruto pulling his fingers from his entrance and fumbling but managing to roll a condom on._

_He positions himself between the raven’s thighs, holding his cock in his palm to guide it into Sasuke’s waiting hole. He pushes the head in and the raven is gasping at the sensation. This is nothing like the way the fingers felt earlier, and he feels himself being stretched to the limit. Naruto doesn’t move immediately, giving him time to adjust, and when he gives the go signal, the blonde pushes further into him._

_“Holy shit, S’uke, feel’s so warm...” He manages to slowly push himself to the hilt and rests his arms on either side of Sasuke’s head. They share a deep kiss before he pulls back a little and pushes back in. The action has them both gasping out in ecstasy, and the raven puts his arms around a tanned neck._

_“Hahh... Please... Move...” And Naruto does exactly that. They find a steady rhythm, the blonde pulling halfway out and then slamming back in. They kiss again, tongues battling for dominance, parting with a string of saliva connecting them._

_When Naruto feels an impending heat pool in his belly, he knows he’s about to climax. It’s happened before when he’d mastrubate, but this is so, so much better. Sasuke’s walls are tightening around him and he knows the raven wasn’t that far off either. The cum with each other’s names on their lips._

_——_

_Sasuke puts his fork down and pushes his plate of food away. Itachi looks at him with question but Sasuke merely shakes his head._

_“Not hungry.”_

_“Bullshit. You haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.”_

_“How would you even know that? You were at work the entire day.” He moves to stand but his brother’s angry voice stops him._

_“What’s been going on with you? Should we go see Doctor—“_

_“NO!” The panic is evident in his face, the raven knows. It’s impossible. He_ survived _._

_“I’m setting an appointment.” The finality in Itachi’s voice is something he couldn’t fight. He tells Naruto he’s gonna go see his primary doctor for an annual check-up, and the blonde looks worried, but he eases it with a peck to his boyfriend’s lips._

_The doctor’s office is located in a hospital of a well-known institute, a five hour drive from their little town. The physician does the protocol examinations and once he’s found some questionable results the next day, he suggests Sasuke be in an antibiotic regimen for one week, then come back for further advice. He has an inflammed spleen which is causing his sharp pains to the side, and the physician collects a sample from his abdomen. The doctor is suspecting something, they both knew. The ride back is quiet. It isn’t until they reach the threshold of their house that the argument starts._

_“Why weren’t you telling me you had abdominal pain?”_

_“I didn’t think it was anything, nii-san!”_

_“Didn’t think?! Well, now what? What if they find something—“_

_“Well, good! Then I’ll die, and I wouldn’t have to burden y—“ The slap to his face stung like hell. He looks to his brother and is shocked to see such raw emotion in an otherwise stoic face._

_“You’re all I have left, Sasuke... You’ve survived before, but the doctor said that once you start feeling anything, you have to tell me. The risk of it coming back full force was high.” And he knew this. When he’d first felt the sting on his side, he was so afraid. His mind raced with all the possibilities. And a week from now, when the doctor tells them what this exactly is, he’ll have to accept whatever it is that comes his way._

_Later that night, sleep escapes him, so he leaves for the dock. He sits there, watching his reflection in the rippling water until a familiar face appears beside his own._

_“And here I thought you weren’t home yet. Why didn’t you text me?”_

_“Sorry. Brother and I fought. Sibling thing.” He looks at Naruto and watches him nod and sit beside him._

_“Gotcha. How was the check up? Everything good? Did the doctor tell you to eat more?” The raven contemplates about the information running around his head._

_“Something like that.” They sit in silence for a long while, just basking in the peace the lake has always given them. “Have you ever thought about the future?”_

_“Why this all of a sudden?” The blonde looks to him._

_“Nothing. Just wondering what you had planned.” Naruto lets out a small laugh and puts his arm behind the raven, resting it around his waist._

_“Well, I was thinking we could build a house right over at that clearing so this dock is always in view from our bedroom. We could put a fence, paint it white probably. We would head to the shelter and adopt the fuck out of all those animals.” Sasuke laughs and leans his head on the blonde’s shoulder._

_“You’re impossible.” They turn to each other and share a kiss._

_——_

_A few days after the follow-up check-up, Sasuke’s fears are confirmed with a phone call. His lymphoma has come back full force._

_“It’s been a decade! How could that be?” Itachi’s trying to make sense of the situation, but Sasuke’s sitting on the couch, taking in the news and trying to accept it._

_“Mr. Uchiha, I wish I had an answer for you, but cancer is unpredictable. It didn’t help that your mother had suffered from the same disease. The genetic factor just raises the risk.” Itachi runs his hand down his face in frustration._

_“How bad is it? What can we do?”_

_“.... According to the results... He’s on the third stage, bordering on the fourth.”_

_“How is it that bad? Sasuke doesn’t look extremely weak or... He seems fine!” His brother has raised his voice._

_“Yes, when I saw him, there was a lot of weight loss, but other than that, he seemed very fine. But when I got samples from his spleen, the lymph nodes on his neck, and from his marrow, they confirmed the worst. As from previous records, his pain tolerance is high, so I’m not surprised he got by. He’s a very strong-willed boy.”_

_“If we start treatment, how much longer will he have?” At the mention of treatment, Sasuke freezes._

_“I honestly would not know until we create a plan and go through with it.”_

_“And if....” Itachi was gauging his reactions this whole time. “If we don’t do it...?”_

_“..... Six months would be asking too much.”_

_——_

_“Hey, you okay? You seem out of it.” Sasuke blinks and looks at Naruto from the other end of the boat._

_“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine.” He watches as the blonde puts his sketchpad back into his bag and reaches for the paddles, but Sasuke’s hands stop him. “Do you remember when I moved here? When we were eleven?” Naruto sits back and smiles._

_“How could I forget? We hated and beat each other up every chance we got.” Sasuke gives a small smile at that._

_“You ever wonder when we started becoming best friends?” The blonde scratches his cheek in thought._

_“I think it was when a couple of jerks had beef with me and you fought by my side saying something about how only you can beat me up or somethin’. We were such dumb kids.”_

_Sasuke moves towards Naruto, careful of rocking the boat, and once he’s close enough, pulls the blonde’s shirt and kisses him hard. He licks Naruto’s lower lip and the moment he opens his mouth, Sasuke explores with his tongue. He puts all his worries and frustrations into the kiss, wishing he could convey the truth like this instead of using words. It’s a reality he’ll have to face very soon, but he lets it slip from his mind for now._

_——_

_He intends to make this specialist visit the final one. He’s made up his mind. When his doctor sits them down with possible ways to treat him, Sasuke cuts her off, shocking both the doctor and his brother._

_“I don’t want treatment.”_

_“Sasuke.” Itachi looks at him with such disbelief, but he presses on._

_“Tell me right now how bad this looks to you.” His voice is steady despite the rapid beating of his heart. His doctor tries to level his look of confidence, but ends up looking back at the chart._

_“It’s progressing very fast. Only because during the ten years, it could have had time to slowly grow. Lymphoma has this characteristic as well.”_

_“I’ve had my check-ups yearly since then.”_

_“And I’m sure they’ve found nothing out of the ordinary before.” The doctor says, and Sasuke sighs._

_“I’ve decided. I’m not going through therapy. Not again.” Itachi saw the conviction in his brother’s eyes and knows he would have to make peace with his decision, even if it meant losing the only family he has left._

_“What we can do is when you start experiencing pain and other symptoms, we could manage those with medication. Just no chemotherapy towards your cancer cells.” Sasuke nods, and if Itachi sees his brother’s hands shake from where they’re settled on his lap, he doesn’t say anything._

_——_

_“Remember that college you told me you wanted to go to?” Naruto’s caressing his bare back with his tanned hand. His head is on the blonde’s chest, right under his chin, and he traces patterns on the broad, naked chest._

_“Yeah? You wanna go there, too?” The blonde chuckles._

_“I think you should work hard to go there. Might have a lot of nice opportunities for you.” Naruto doesn’t say anything, he instead keeps caressing his lover’s back, and Sasuke can’t help but close his eyes. He gets a bit more tired each day, and he’s noticed it now more than ever._

_“Can I ask you something, S’uke?”_

_“Hm.”_

_“What’s going on with you?” Sasuke’s eyes quickly open and he raises his head to gaze at Naruto’s own._

_“What do you mean?”_

_“You’ve been saying wierd shit lately. You’re not looking really great either. I mean, fuck, you’re fucking hot, but I mean in a healthy way. You don’t... Are you on a diet?” Sasuke snorts._

_“Seriously? A diet.” The raven sits up and winces at the pain radiating from his hips._

_“I don’t know, you just. You barely eat!” Naruto sits up as well. “I feel like you’re hiding something from me. I’m sorry, but I just have this feeling that—“_

_“I’m gonna die.” Sasuke doesn’t look at him, so he doesn’t see how angry the blonde looks._

_“Sasuke, what the fuck? That’s a sick joke to say right now!” The raven looks at him then, his eyes glassy._

_“You think I’m kidding?” The blonde doesn’t even know what to say, so he refrains from doing so. “No one knows this but my brother, but when I was eight, I was diagnosed with a form of Lymphoma. I went through treatment, the whole nine yards. A year of agonizing chemotherapy later, I was deemed ‘cancer free’. And I really believed I was.” He lies back down, resting his head on Naruto’s pillow. The blonde looks down at him with a sad expression._

_“So, you’ll have to go through chemo again?” Sasuke shakes his head._

_“I’m done. That one year was the worst year of my life, and look where it brought me. Back to square one, except, I was diagnosed at stage one before. By chance, too, because my mom had died of the same thing back then. Me and Itachi were screened, and boom, I had it. Now? I’m almost end-stage. Chemo will just prolong my suffering , so I’d rather not do that.”_

_The fact that Sasuke was saying all this so nonchalantly unnerved Naruto. He’s gonna die. Sasuke’s gonna die soon and he’s acting like he hadn’t just dropped the biggest bomb of his life._

_“You won’t even consider it?” Sasuke shoves at him._

_“Are you seriously asking me that? I just told you I won’t! Don’t fucking nag me like Itachi did!”_

_“What? I’m not nagging you! I’m just worried about you!” But Sasuke’s done with this conversation. He stands, with some difficulty, and retrieves his strewn clothes all over the floor and gets dressed._

_“Sasuke!”_

_“Shut the fuck up!”_

_“Listen to me!”_

_“No! You listen to ME! I’m gonna die wether you or anyone likes it or not! So if you don’t want that, we’re fucking through! We’re through!” Sasuke leaves his room with a slam of the door, and Naruto doesn’t have the strength in him to follow the raven._

_Later, when his parents come home, they find him sitting at the dining table, head in his hands, tears in his face. His mother comes to comfort him immediately, his father taking the seat on his other side._

_“Sasuke’s gonna die. I’m gonna lose him. I love him so much, I don’t know what I’m gonna do without him!” His parents have no words, only hugs of comfort for their grieving son. Minato wipes his son’s tears._

_“Instead of thinking about what will happen without him, why not make now count while he’s still here?” And the words give Naruto a renewed strength._

_——_

_Naruto knocks on the door of the Uchiha residence the next morning, bouquet of roses in hand. Sasuke answers the door, and once he sees the blonde, tears fall from his eyes. Naruto embraces him and takes in his scent, trying to commit it to memory._

_“Let’s go somewhere. Just you and me.” The raven nods and he sees just how tired he is. He leads him to his beat up, orange truck._

_“Okay, you’re getting me curious.” Sasuke hops in the passenger seat anyway, and watches the blonde start the car. “Where’re you taking me?”_

_“It’s a secret ‘till we get close enough.” He switches gears and drives off to the main road. Sasuke places his hand on the one Naruto has on the lever._

_“Sorry about yesterday. I just... I don’t know. I just am.” Sasuke glares at him when he whistles._

_“You saying sorry first. I think it’s gonna rain today.” The raven pokes his side, making him jump in his seat._

_“Focus on the road, idiot.” They laugh and let the radio fill the comfortable silence that comes after. They near the destination and Sasuke rolls his eyes. “The fair? Really?”_

_Naruto parks the truck and looks at him. “Yes, really. They even have a ferris wheel! Gambling and shooting games galore, too!”_

_“Whoopee.” Sasuke says sarcastically, but shuts up when the blonde leans in to kiss him. He places his hand on the nape of Naruto’s neck and pulls him further in, opening his mouth to give him access. They’re french kissing like horny teenagers, they technically are, and jump apart when the blonde accidently lands his elbow on the car’s horn. “Jesus Christ.”_

_They exit the car and pay the entrance fees, hand in hand the entire time. Of course, they head to the shooting gallery first, Naruto promising him the biggest prize there is. He fails, but Sasuke manages to get a cute little green dinosaur plushie out of it, and he treasures it. They try the cotton candy, and he holds his plushie while Naruto feeds him the treat, intentionally missing his mouth and smearing the now sticky substance on his nose and around his lips. Sasuke’s about to kick his ass, but the blonde swoops in and licks the raven’s lips, and they begin to obscenely make out in the middle of the park._

_Later that night, they take a ride at the ferris wheel, and once they reach the top, Naruto holds his pale hand and kisses his knuckles one by one._

_“Sasuke...”_

_“It’s kinda weird to know your days are numbered. One day, I won’t be able to see all of this.” He gestures to the dazzling lights the high view allows them to see. “Naruto... I just...” He tears his gaze away from the view to his lover, and wipes the tears dripping from his tanned face. “Sorry, I fucking killed the mood.” The blonde just shakes his head._

_“Wanna know why I brought you here?” He says this with raw emotion on his rough voice._

_“Pretty sure it’s to give me this, right?” He holds up the plush toy to try and cheer the blonde up, but receives a shake of the head._

_“Actually, it’s this.” Naruto reaches into his pocket and pulls out a velvet box, and Sasuke’s breath catches in his throat._

_“Sasuke... I love you so much. I don’t think I’ll ever find a love like yours again. If reincarnation is fucking real, then I hope in the future, you’ll still be the one for me. I’ll find you. No matter what. But for now,” He opens the box to reveal a simple silver ring with a small gem encrusted atop. “Will you marry me?”_

_Sasuke’s tears are dripping down his chin and he couldn’t speak. All he could offer was a nod and his hand to Naruto’s direction. The blonde happily takes it and slips the jewelry onto his ring finger. Sasuke holds his fiancè’s face and kisses him._

_——_

_They hurry to the truck and climb into the back seat. Once the door is closed, Sasuke climbs onto Naruto’s lap and captures his lips in a heated kiss. While their tongues fight for dominance, the blonde’s hands trail up the raven’s thighs and squeeze his ass through the fabric of his pants. Sasuke hooks his fingers under the hem of his shirt and pulls it up over him in one smooth motion._

_Naruto wastes no time taking a pink nipple into his mouth, sucking hard and earning a moan from his lover. The raven grinds their erections together, friction limited by their jeans but offering a tingling sensation all the same. They hiss at the sweet feeling of rutting before Sasuke pushes Naruto to a lying position across the entire back seat and unbuckles his pants, pulling a half-hard cock from its confines._

_He straddles the blonde’s shins and gives his member a teasing kitten lick before taking the entire organ into his mouth. He moans when he feels the large cock grow harder against his tongue and forces the head all the way to the back of his throat. The blonde moans loudly and pulls at ebony locks. Sasuke pulls back so only a string of saliva connects him to that bulbous head, and pumps the base with his left hand. When Naruto feels the cool metal of the ring touch his aching cock, he almost climaxes right there and then._

_“Hah..! Sasuke..!” The raven takes his length in once more, pumping the part of the shaft that couldn’t fit into his mouth anymore. He bobs his head, pushing his tongue against that large vein throbbing underneath his fiancè’s cock. He moves just the way he knows the blonde likes. He looks up during his ministrations and blue eyes lock onto his. He makes sure to slow his movements, showing Naruto just how forced open his mouth was from the girth alone. “Holy fuck...! S’uke!”_

_He eventually pulls it out of his mouth before his lover could cum, and spits on it, watching his saliva run down the shaft to his throbbing sack. Sasuke unbuttons his own pants and forces them off of himself. “There isn’t any lube!”_

_“We don’t need it.” The blonde comes back up to a sitting position and Sasuke straddles his hips, rubbing the engorged organ of his lover between his cheeks. “Fuck... I want you to tear me apart today.”_

_He continues grinding his hips and Naruto’s cock is gaining friction. He takes hold of the base and raises his hips, aligning the large head to his entrance and pushing down. The head breaches his tight entrance and the sting makes him hiss, but nevertheless, he pushes down until his lover is buried in him to the hilt. “Nnng...! Fuck!” The blond throws his head back in ecstasy, and gives Sasuke’s thigh a slap. This has the raven gasping and raising his hips minutely and slamming back down. He braces his hands on the backrest, the leverage making it easier to find a rhythm. Naruto holds his hips while his lover continues the sweet pace._

_“I love you so fucking much, Sasuke. So fucking much.” The raven moves faster, and shares a kiss with him. They part panting into each other’s mouths._

_“Fuck, I’m gonna cum.” Naruto flips them so Sasuke’s lying on the seat and he’s between his thighs. He leans his forearm onto the car door above his lover’s head, his other hand caressing that gorgeous face. He creates a brutal pace and not soon after, Sasuke’s yelling out his name in climax. He locks his lips to a bruised, panting one, tasting everything that’s Sasuke before emptying his load inside of him. They bask in the afterglow for hours before they decide to take the drive back, and they’ve never been happier._

_——_

_The wedding is two weeks later, a simple signing of papers and an exchange of vows and rings at the city hall. The reception is held at the Namikaze residence and all their friends and relatives are there. Well, for Sasuke it was just Itachi, but the support is not any less that of an entire clan. Jiraiya manages to catch Naruto alone and offers him a glass of whiskey._

_“You happy, kid?” He notices that the blonde never takes his eyes away from his husband._

_“No one could ever be happier than me right now, old man.” Naruto flashes him a genuine smile, and he knows the boy speaks the truth._

_They consumate their marriage that night in Sasuke’s room, holding on to each other in their throes of passion. Little do they know that is the calm before the storm._

_In the next two weeks, Sasuke’s health starts declining fast. It starts with longer bouts of sleep and constant naps, then, the discomfort in his gut grows more painful with each passing day. There’s one time when Naruto cupps his jaw to give him a kiss and he yells out in agony because the lymph nodes on his neck are not only swollen, but very painful to the touch. Sasuke refuses to go to the hospital._

_It’s when he tries to wake his husband up for dinner one evening, only to find him unresponsive and skin hot like fire, that he puts his foot down. He rushes Sasuke to the hospital that day. He has a terrible infection and is in a coma-like state for days. When he finally comes to, Naruto iss at his side. He stays in the hospital since then._

_He’s been stepped down from the ICU a few days ago, and is looking out the window of his private room. The bed is inclined so his back is almost upright, but he has no strength in him at all. He hears Naruto close his sketch pad and put it in his hands._

_“I finished it. Down to the last page.” Naruto smiles at him and carefully brushes his bangs behind his ear._

_Sasuke offers him a small smile before looking through it. His eyes widen at all the drawings of him. At the dock, on the rowboat, covered in a blanket with hot chocolate in his hands, everything. The last addition is of him looking out the window and he had no idea he looked that serene. Inside him is a warzone right now, but the blonde did always see the lighter side of life. He’s confident Naruto would make it, even when he’s out of the picture._

_“Can I have it?” Naruto carefully holds his lover’s hand and kisses his wedding band._

_“It’s only ever for you.” They share a quick peck of the lips before Itachi comes by to take Naruto’s place. He leaves with a promise to be back and Sasuke watches him go._

_“Can you do something for me, nii-san?” Itachi looks up from the book he’s started reading at the bedside chair._

_“Sure, anything.”_

_“Can you get me a pen and paper?”_

_——_

_About five months since finding out, Sasuke is too weak to do anything. His health has taken a turn for the worst, but the doctor has respected his wishes of no ventilators and no feeding tubes, so all he’s on are the pain relievers._

_“Nii...” His voice is so hushed, his brother would have missed it had he not been so close to the bed._

_“Yes, Sasuke?” He turns to him and brushes his bangs out of his face. He’s unrecognizable. His skin is not flawless, but full of bruises. A single touch could cause a bruise to blossom from it. He’s also skin and bones in the literal sense. His eyes had sunken, and his breathing is somewhat labored._

_“Nar.... to.” Itachi’s eyes widen in urgency and he phones the blond who’d gone home to shower and change. He picks up at the fourth ring._

_“Naruto... I think it’s time.” Their immediate family had come, but gave Naruto time to his spouse. He holds that pale hand in his, kissing it before moving to give his lover a kiss to the forehead, then the lips. He lets that last kiss linger a bit before pulling away._

_“I love you so much, Sasuke.”_

_“Promise me... you’ll never forget me..”_

_“I promise. I will never ever forget you.”_

_He sees Sasuke give out a small smile before his eyes drift close and his breathing pattern changes. He holds onto his delicate hand once more, watching until his lover takes in a deep breath and lets out his final one._

——

The rain has finally subsided and he is able to make his way back to his parents’ house. He walks in, ready to call it a day, until a familiar voice calls out to him.

“I thought you’d be here at one point.” He turns around and sees none other than Uchiha Itachi.

“Itachi...” Said man steps forward to give him a handshake.

“It’s been such a long time, Naruto. How have you been?” When the blonde doesn’t answer, he continues. “Your mother introduced me to your family. They’re a wonderful bunch.” He sees the older man look down sadly for a moment before clearing his throat and holding out a box to him. He didn’t even notice he’d had the item all along.

“This, I never had the chance to give to you before. By the time I was a little bit over my grieving and had the free time, you were already gone. You left the town without a trace and your parents never really gave me a clue or an address, so I couldn’t send it to you. This is the first time you’ve come back since then.” Naruto takes the box from Itachi’s hands, feeling the weight of it.

“Thanks...”

“Sasuke wanted me to give you that. I’m guessing those are his prized possessions, and he wanted you to have them. It’s good to see you, Naruto.” And with that, Itachi heads back to the rest of the guests.

He enters his father’s study and sits on one of the plush arm chairs, willing his hands to keep from trembling as he opens the box. The first thing he sees inside has him welling up with emotions. He carefully extracts the dinosaur plush he’d won Sasuke all the those years ago, and it brings tears to his eyes. He sets it on his lap and takes his sketchbook next. The pages had gone yellow with age, but the sketches stayed in perfect condition.

He runs his eyes over a portrait of Sasuke sitting on the rowboat, looking to his side, and at peace. His tears are freely falling but he doesn’t bother wiping them away. He looks through a couple more pages until he’s looking at the sketch of Sasuke in his hosptial room. He traces his finger along his beautiful face, silently hoping that for just one second, he could feel that smooth, flawless skin underneath his fingertips.

After a while, he closes the sketch pad and is about to return it until he spots an envelope at the bottom of the box. He sets the book aside and takes the letter in his hands, ‘My Beloved Naruto’ written at the back with Sasuke’s clean penmanship. He takes a deep breath and opens it, taking the folded paper from within and unraveling it. His heart stops.

_Naruto,_

_If you’re reading this, I might already be gone. There’s a lot of things I didn’t get to say to you, or more importantly, do with you. We’ve only been married for a good 3 months or so, and life is unfair like that. I’m sorry I had to leave so soon. I know you and my brother wanted me to pursue getting the treatment, but it’s inevitable, and I didn’t wanna suffer through that again. I hope you understand. I don’t think I can thank you enough for making the last years of my life so memorable. It kinda makes me wanna believe that you’re my soulmate, if those things existed._

_I know you’ll grieve for me, but one day, the hurt will go away, and someone out there will save you like you saved me. Cherish them. I have only one wish, and I know it’s selfish of me to ask, but I pray you never forget me. If I can’t live in my own body, I wanna stay in your heart forever. If you have children someday, I hope they find a love like I’ve found in you. I love you now and forever._

_Sasuke_

Naruto notices blotches throughout the letter, and he knows how difficult it must have been for Sasuke to write this. He dries his own tears with a piece of tissue he’d taken from his dad’s desk and neatly places the letter back in the envelope, keeping everything back in the box. He hurriedly looks through his dad’s collection of photo albums and finds the one he’s looking for. He sits back down and is starting to go through it when his children come to him.

“Dad, where’ve you been? Are you crying?” Himawari climbs to his lap. “What’s that?”

Naruto sniffles. “It’s a photo album.”

Boruto sits on the arm of the chair and points to a picture. “Who’s that?”

Naruto chuckles. “Let me tell you guys about Sasuke.”


End file.
